Quite the Fangirl
by Tony18
Summary: They've survived everything from bank robbers to supervillains, and just got out of the biggest battle of their lives. But now Tadashi and Gogo face a new challenge – a fangirl… very eager to meet them.


"Everyone's saying what a hard-ass Fury is, freezing people with a single look, leaving them quivering with just five words. Honestly? I didn't see it. He's nice, I like him."

"There's a reason you like him, Gogo," Tadashi said.

"And what would that be?" Gogo asked, popping a bubble and arching an eyebrow.

"You could be Fury's daughter," Tadashi answered.

"Eh, I've been called worse, she said with a shrug.

Tadashi stretched out both arms, careful to avoid hitting a fellow shopper with purple skin, gills, and webbed fingers and toes. They were wandering through the central market of the Inhuman city of New Attilan, and even Gogo couldn't help but be impressed. Queen Medusalith Amaquelin had left Washington well ahead of the team, and met with Big Hero 7 when they first arrived. Tadashi had been surprised at the quiet warmth and kindness she had shown all of them.

The city had reopened to the world following the defeat of the forces of the Capo and the Ennilux Corporation two months ago. King Blackbolt had not been seen since then, save his own appearance in D.C. two days ago, and Medusa would not talk of him. She had met with Tadashi alone, and he hadn't said what they spoke about. Gogo had her suspicions, but had yet to try to confirm them.

Tadashi stopped to look at a table covered in statuary formed from living coral, according to the attached sign. The range of colors was incredible, from gentle pearl-white to explosions of ruby red, plumes of aquamarine, and dustings of light saffron. He picked up several, thinking of Gogo; an oddity like this might interest her, and he thought he might come back on his own.

The seller, indistinguishable from anyone you'd see on the streets of San Fransokyo or New York save for the third eye and two antenna, gave him an eager look. "Has anything caught your eye, young man?" she asked. Gogo picked up a statute of an orca, its body indigo and lilac rather than black and white.

"Sorry," he said, holding his hands out and open with a regretful look on his face.

"Come back any time," she said, then leaned in. "I'd say your lady friend found one to her liking," she whispered conspiratorially. Tadashi blushed. Gogo rolled her eyes and set the piece down.

"So where's everyone else?" she asked, spitting her old gum into the trash and putting in a new stick.

"Wasabi texted me. He said he'd wrangled himself a tour of this city's power reactors, and that Honey Lemon is staying on the helicarrier. Apparently she has a "theory" to go over with Dr. Banner."

"I think blondie might have a bit of a crush," Gogo said with a smirk as she thought back to last night. Her best girl-friend hadn't stopped gushing over the chance to work with the older scientist and well-known member of the Avengers. Honey Lemon hadn't said a word about being attracted to Dr. Banner, but to someone who'd known her since high school it was damn obvious.

"Wasabi also said that when he last saw her she was trying to flag Dr. Banner down, and that the man looked a bit nervous and was walking away pretty quickly," Tadashi added.

"When she likes someone, she goes all out," Gogo said. "What about everyone else?"

"I saw Fred just as we left the restaurant, when you were getting your jacket. He was wandering down the street slack-jawed." Gogo grinned at the mental image. He hadn't shut up during the entire trip to New York, but once they got to the helicarrier and then to the Inhuman city, he was speechless.

"We're gonna have to hog-tie him and drag him out behind us when we leave, aren't we?"

"God yes," Tadashi said, stopping as they reached a secluded balcony, and pulling Gogo inside. Flowering shrubs had been planted in large stone troughs to dull the noise of the crowds, and they were hidden from the levels below; they were as close to alone as possible. Tadashi leaned against the railing as Gogo moved in beside him, and he slipped his arm around her waist; she leaned into him in silence.

"This is an amazing place," he said, his thoughts on the young woman wrapping her arm around him.

"Mm'hmm," she answered, her thoughts on the young man rubbing his hand along her waist. "Any idea where Mr. Robot and our Glorious Leader are?"

"Not a clue," Tadashi said. "But Baymax won't let the knucklehead do anything too stupid."

"Not unless he wants a private meeting with Gorgon," Gogo said, blowing a tuft of hair from her eye.

"He just might," Tadashi said as he watched the sunset. New York City was visible beyond the Statue of Liberty, and he looked on it silently. From here it looked so elegant, so peaceful. Yet they knew what could happen when so many millions lived in so small a space. It made this place seem like Disneyland, for all the strife it had endured. Gogo just popped another bubble and settled in next to him.

In the year since the team's debut, when they defeated their grief-maddened professor and freed Tadashi from his command, they had maintained their independence, but still provided aid to SHIELD. The agency had asked them to look into a series of disappearances up and down the West Coast, and what they found were hints of an alliance between HYDRA and the Hellfire Club. The team sent out the alert, and heroes from across the country and around the world joined the fight to stop the two groups.

It all culminated two days ago in an "all hands on deck" battle on the National Mall that nearly cost them everything. Gogo had been the last of Big Hero 7 to be confirmed alive, and seeing her battered, unconscious form nearly broke Tadashi. But all their worrying proved for naught: she woke up in the hospital the next morning, and just rolled her eyes and told Tadashi to "woman up" as he hugged her.

She was released early yesterday afternoon, and after being debriefed by Colonel Fury, no one knew what to do. They all needed time to rest and recover, and weren't due home for several days. So the team took advantage and were on the first real vacation of their new lives.

Gogo looked up at the exact moment Tadashi rubbed his hand along the right side of his face, and saw him wince as his fingers touched the scar tissue. She tightened her grip. "Sorry that your boyfriend looks like a corpse," he said, giving her a weak smile. He turned away, but she whirled him around and yanked on his shirt, pulling him down so they were eye to eye.

"I said it months ago, and now it's an order: _stop this_," she said with a glare. "You're not a corpse, or a monster, or a freak, and hearing my boyfriend insult himself is pissing_. me. off_!"

"It's what I am!" He hissed at her. "I hurt everyone, I nearly killed everyone more than once!" He turned away and lowered his head. "I haven't even come close to getting what I deserve." She moved to take his hand, but he pulled away.

"I sure as hell don't deserve..."

"Deserve what?" Gogo asked, knowing exactly what he'd say. The knowledge of what he'd done as Yokai's slave tore at his heart every day. She was certain he'd talked about this with Medusa, but any benefit from that was long gone.

What she knew was this: in the moments before Hiro, Tadashi and Baymax had returned through the portal with Abigail Callaghan's flight pod, when it looked like it would explode with them still in that other realm, she vowed to be at his side no matter where he went to find peace. When he stood before her, the mask Yokai had forced on him ground underfoot, she had fixed a fiery gaze and slapped him.

Then she pulled him in for a kiss, one she'd overheard him tell Hiro was the "greatest in my god-damn life." She'd never told him of her vow, but she knew it would cost her.

"If life was about getting what we "deserve," no one would be happy," she said; Tadashi turned back to her. "As one of the people who nearly died saving you, and who has been at your side ever since, I'm telling you that what Callaghan did to you will never erase the good you've done, and can still do. But right now," she continued, molding her body up against his, "all I want is to go check into our hotel."

"And after that?" Tadashi asked as he wrapped his arms around her; she'd never say it, but that eager grin on his face warmed her heart. For now, at least, his fears, his anger, his self-hatred, all that was gone. He was the man she loved.

"Do so many different things…" Gogo said, trailing off just as their lips touched.

It was then they saw the flash of a camera. At first, they thought it had to be Honey Lemon. She'd been the worst of the group when it came to their relationship; even Fred's crude jokes (which did stop when Gogo threatened his ability to someday father children) became preferable. Listening to her, you'd think it was the greatest romance in history. But she wasn't the one who took the picture.

They both turned to see a teenage girl holding a cell phone. She was maybe two years older than Hiro, with dusky brown skin and long black hair, and was maybe a half a foot taller than Tadashi's little brother. That she was giving them the same grin their Latina friend and teammate had when she saw their first kiss sent shivers down their spines.

"I knew it was you guys when I saw you in the crowds earlier! I was looking for you, and I got here just in time!" said the young woman known to the world as Ms. Marvel, but to them as Kamala Khan. She was in civilian clothing: jeans, a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, and a gray hat with earflaps on her head.

They'd recognized her instantly. Even if she'd been wearing a domino mask and her costume, how could you forget someone who just two days ago had been thirty feet tall and using her bare hands to smash apart Hive Drones attacking a group of civilians trapped inside the Washington Monument?

"I'm so sorry for just grabbing a picture, but a guy on the superhero fan forum I moderate said they thought the idea of you two together was terrible, and I had to prove them wrong!" Tadashi's stomach tightened into a knot. Their identities had been more or less exposed after their debut, and they had disclosed everything else. People kept away and let them live their lives – for the most part.

"They said… what?" Gogo asked, startled that anyone would care.

"He kept saying you guys had no chemistry, it'd be too cliché, and he was being a huge jerk about it to everyone, but come on, anyone who's watched one of your fights could see how you two watch out for each other. You are _not_ just 'good friends.'"

"Is there a reason," Gogo asked, frustrated at the interruption, "that this is so important right now?"

"We're talking about two best friends who were clearly in love for years but couldn't act on it. Then one of them "dies," only to be "reborn" as a super-villain's slave. She risks her life to save him, and they profess their love after their victory against the man who stole him from her! I mean, come on! It's the classiest storyline there is! You wouldn't believe how many "adaptation fics" there are!"

"I'm not sure I want to know," Tadashi muttered.

"It is the central plot to the third highest rated fanfic on right now," she said in a more defensive tone. "_I_ happen to have written it." Gogo, increasingly annoyed and hoping to find an escape, edged closer to the entrance.

"May I ask what the second and first are?" Tadashi asked, not sure he wanted to know.

"Oh, some 'Avengers travel to Westeros' thing, and a Captain America/Iron Man slash fic," Kamala said. "That last one is really good, but the first? Talk about clichéd plot twists and bad characterization!"

"That seems important," Tadashi said, calculating the odds of being struck by lightning on a clear day.

"Well, if you're spending the time and effort to write a fic, have the people in it behave consistently with the canon, or real life," she said, grinning at the two she'd written about, "or what's the point? Why not just write something new?"

"Why not indeed?" Gogo said, trying to think of how they could get away without hurting the teen's feelings; truth be told, she did like her. "Are there really that many people invested in us?"

"You two are like the perfect ship," she said, Tadashi furrowing his brow.

"I don't want to, but I have to ask… 'Ship'?"

"Sometimes there are just characters or people you _know_ belong together," she said with a shrug. "What I don't get are the shipping wars." Tadashi heard Gogo mumble something in Korean that sounded like 'God, kill me now.'

"Who, uh, wages 'shipping wars'?" he asked.

"People who get upset with how someone else is having fun," Kamala said dismissively. "I mean, I'm Tomadashi all the way, but I won't ruin someone else's good time."

""Tomadashi"," Gogo muttered as her right eye began to twitch, "there are terms for it?"

"Yeah, there's one for practically every ship out there."

"So, um, who else do we get shipped with?" Tadashi asked. Kamala's eyes lit up as she took a deep breath. Tadashi could have kicked himself.

"Well, there's you and Hiro - Hirogo," she said as she pointed at Gogo, who raised both eyebrows but kept silent, "and you and Honey Lemon - Tadahoney," she said, Tadashi looking at Gogo and shrugging. "Then you have the Hidashi stuff…"

"Kamala, I'm begging you, don't finish that sentence," Tadashi said as a sharp pain shot through his forehead. He had a suspicion, but he really didn't want it confirmed.

Blackbolt stopping by to say "hello" would be preferable.

"Well, I didn't want to either," she said, making a 'blech' face. "But like I was saying, I just don't get the attacks and arguments."

"People take this stuff that personally?" Gogo asked. At this point she was close to jumping over the railing into the Hudson. She was a good swimmer, and it wouldn't take _that_ long to get to New York.

"If you hate it, why keep reading it?" Kamala wondered. "Between school, superheroing, volunteering at my masjid and everything else, all I can think is 'why waste time on something you don't like?'"

"Good advice," Tadashi said. There was a set of shrubs nearby that rustled, and he thought, for just a moment, that he saw… _'No, it couldn't be.' _"Do people write about anything else?"

"Well, there is…" Kamala said, before an embarrassed look came on her face. "Sorry, never mind," she said as she shot a look at Tadashi.

"Hey, we've gone this far," he said, "why not finish this little safari?" _'Through hell.'_

"It's almost an obsession," Kamala said, "Tadashi!Dead fics, I mean." Gogo's eyes snapped to the man next to her. He looked indifferent, almost bored, save his eyes; everything she thought had drained away a short while ago was back. "I really shouldn't have, I'm so sorry, I've got to…" The teen started, wishing she hadn't found them.

"Why do you think that is?" he asked quietly. Gogo moved closer to him, but he pulled away.

"People just seem to love the darkness of it all," she said with a sad shrug. "I've never really liked them, they just seemed to be in bad taste."

"I wonder why?" Gogo inquired in a dark tone. She moved forward and took Tadashi's hand as he blinked in surprise. Gogo had no problem kissing when they were alone, but simple gestures around other people weren't something she was good at. His eyes softened, and he squeezed her hand. Small things, small interactions like this - that was what Medusa said would help him; he could see that now.

"All the stories revolve around the fire, right?" he said.

"Pretty much," Kamala said, looking down at her feet. "A lot were posted during Tomadashi Week."

"Wait, what?" he asked in confusion, and as awkward as it was, Gogo was glad the teen mentioned it. Maybe he'd see himself from a different perspective.

"Oh, it was a challenge thing on Tumblr a couple of months back," Kamala said, her smile returning, "fics focused around you guys, a different theme for each day."

"And it actually lasted? A whole week?" Tadashi asked, wondering how that was possible.

"I got ones in for every day," she said enthusiastically, "but honestly, Harmony-Love's were the best."

"Harmony-Love?" Gogo asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Harmony-Love. She's probably my favorite author on freakingcool, and AO3."

"'Harmony-Love," Gogo repeated, as Tadashi noticed how still she had become.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, there's just someone I need to have some words with… and possibly kill," Gogo answered coldly. Kamala swallowed nervously, and checked the time on her phone.

"Shoot, I have to get going!" she said, shaking the hands of two of her favorite heroes. "Hey, I know I should have asked first, but can I… use the photo I took?" She asked quickly, in a slightly embarrassed tone. They knew that if they said no, she'd delete it immediately.

But after a moment Tadashi let out an exhausted sigh and nodded. For Gogo, well, for all the media and paparazzi crap the team had dealt with since their identities went public, at least Kamala was asking. She nodded as well, and Kamala's smile got even bigger. "Also, umm, I promise it wouldn't be going out, it'd just be for me, but... could I take my photo with you two?"

Tadashi nearly face-palmed, and Gogo wanted to groan, but if it meant getting out of this sooner… They lined up on either side of her, she held out her phone, and snapped a shot; her smile was lot bigger than theirs. "It was good seeing you, great job down in D.C., have fun here! This place rules!" she yelled over her shoulder as she dashed off. The two didn't talk until she was well out of earshot.

"On a scale of 'one' to 'Baymax gives The Talk,' how bad was that?" Tadashi asked.

"Bad enough that this will never be spoken of again," Gogo commanded.

"Understood," Tadashi said obediently.

"Oh, but why not?" a very familiar voice asked, and they turned to see Hiro stand up behind the shrubs. "It was just… transcendent," he said as he clasped his hands and smiled.

"How long have you been there? And why isn't your babysitter with you?" Gogo asked, in a voice that a year ago would have had the teen cowering. Now, he just grinned.

"Since before you two even showed up," he said, his smirk making her see red. "And last I saw Baymax, he was sitting on the floor of a pet shop cuddling with a dozen animals."

"Hiro, I want you to listen to me _very carefully_," Tadashi said in the iciest tone he'd ever used with his little brother, "You will never, _ever_ talk to anyone about this."

"But I won't need to," Hiro said, and he held up his cell-phone. They knew he'd recorded everything.

"It would be very beneficial to your future if you deleted that right now," Gogo said, taking a step forward, wondering if there was a term for killing your boyfriend's little brother. Hiro was unimpressed.

"Come on, I was only going to send it to a few people: Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fred, Aunt Cass… and Hawkeye." That made them both freeze.

Among the group who'd fought in Washington D.C., there were no secret identities; _everyone's_ was out. But as for her friends, family, and the general public, no one knew Kamala's but her friend Bruno. Hawkeye would _never_ do anything to jeopardize her safety or her privacy, not for the sake of a laugh.

But they knew that if Clint Barton got his hands on that video, everyone that had gone to battle in the nation's capital would have access in minutes.

"Hiro, delete that right now," Tadashi said, slowly moving towards him.

"Ah," Hiro said, making as if his thumb would slip over the "send" button. They stopped, and when they moved again he did it again. Then, from the edge of the roof high above, a single drop of water fell… and just as Hiro looked up, it landed in his left eye. He blinked, and his thumb slipped for real.

"Uh oh," he said, looking from the screen to Tadashi and Gogo. His face turned pale as death.

"Oh crap."

He ran. They followed.

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE RUNT!" Tadashi yelled, Gogo yelling much worse things in Korean. All three ran past Kamala, who was leaning against a wall, Lockjaw sitting beside her and panting.

"Come on, I'm not that bad, am I?" she asked the monster-dog. All she got was a huff and a wet smack of monster-dog lips. She turned and shouted out at them as they ran.

"It'd be really nice if you didn't actually kill him! We're supposed to go on a date later!" She watched as Gogo gained on Hiro. The Kamiro story line was looking less and less likely.

* * *

I will say that the mentions of Bruce Banner and Clint Barton were inspired by these two pics by TheAmateurAesthete: art/Poor-Bruce-498812157 and art/NERFWAR-B-TCHES-498812144


End file.
